Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Sanchez.
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It starts with being a kid who couldn’t sit still in school. Academics were a struggle for me, but socially, I thrived. I was the class clown, always dreaming up the next big idea. That’s when I met my best friend Adam. We shared the same humor and the same gut feeling that we’d build something together someday. The only thing missing back then was confidence. I was a late bloomer.
College changed everything. I joined Alpha Tau Omega at Georgia Southern, and pledging forced me out of my comfort zone. It built the kind of confidence that only comes from shared struggle and accountability. That experience taught me that the people around you shape who you become.
After college, I got fired from my first job in food and beverage sales. I was bored and knew I was meant for something faster. That setback led me to Bill Wade, now one of my closest advisors, who gave me my first taste of startup life. Fast-paced, high trust, high impact. I was hooked.
From there I joined AirWatch as employee number 256. Where I helped build out the channel program from scratch, helped train the sales team, and supported the VMware integration after acquisition. That’s where I learned what equity and ownership feel like, and the thrill of being part of something that scales.
Then came Zerto, where I met one of my greatest mentors, Matt Burns. He took a chance on me as a direct seller even though my background was in channel. That first year was tough. I had a wife, a daughter, and another on the way, and I wasn’t making enough. Matt told me to hang in there. I did. I trusted the process, stayed consistent, and built a repeatable playbook. Over nine years, I became the top revenue producer in Zerto’s history. Grit and consistency beat talent and luck every time.
During those years, I kept noticing a gap. The companies I worked with had real IT challenges but couldn’t find the right specialized talent to execute. Meanwhile, my network was full of skilled technologists looking for meaningful project work. I refined the vision over six years, often with Adam, but we hadn’t taken the leap.
Then my wife passed away from cancer five years ago. It was the hardest time of my life. Before she passed, she told me she believed in me and trusted I’d raise our daughters with strength and courage. Those words stay with me every day. Losing her reframed everything: time is short, empathy matters, and you can’t wait for the perfect moment to pursue what you believe in.
About a year and a half ago, I founded Hivemindd. It’s an AI-powered platform that connects companies with vetted fractional IT experts and assembles project-ready teams. It’s completely free for companies until we find the right fit. We’re building a community where experts grow their reputations, mentor each other, and get matched to the right projects.
Every experience built the foundation for this. Adam and I dreamed about building something as kids. Bill Wade gave me my first startup spark. Matt Burns showed me what it looks like to believe in someone before they’ve proven themselves. My wife showed me what unconditional belief looks like. All of them are woven into what we’re creating.
My advice: don’t wait for perfect conditions. Start before you’re ready. Find your people early, because the relationships you build are the foundation of everything. Business is personal. It always has been.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all, and I think anyone who tells you their road was smooth is either lying or hasn’t pushed hard enough.
Getting fired from my first job was humbling. Sitting in that moment wondering what went wrong, when really the answer was that I was in the wrong environment. That was a tough pill to swallow at 23.
The first year at Zerto nearly broke me financially. I had a growing family and wasn’t bringing in enough to support them. There were nights where I questioned if I’d made the right call. But my mentor Matt Burns told me to trust the process, and I’m grateful I listened.
Losing my wife was a different kind of struggle entirely. There’s no playbook for that. You just wake up every day and try to be strong for your kids while processing something that doesn’t make sense. That experience changed me fundamentally. It gave me a perspective on life and time that I carry into everything I do now.
And honestly, building Hivemindd has been its own gauntlet. Fundraising as a first-time founder means hearing no constantly. Building a two-sided marketplace means solving the chicken-and-egg problem of supply and demand at the same time. Recruiting a leadership team and asking them to believe in a vision that doesn’t have all the proof points yet takes a level of trust that I never take for granted. There are days where the weight of that responsibility is heavy.
But here’s what I’ve learned: the struggles are the point. Every setback taught me something I needed for the next chapter. Getting fired led me to startups. The grind at Zerto built my sales playbook. Losing my wife gave me the urgency to stop waiting. And the challenges of building Hivemindd are sharpening me into the leader this company needs. I wouldn’t trade any of it.
We’ve been impressed with Hivemindd, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Hivemindd is an AI-powered platform that connects small and mid-sized businesses with vetted fractional IT experts across cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and infrastructure. When a company has a complex IT challenge but doesn’t have the right people in-house, we assemble a project-ready team called a Swarm, matched by AI to their specific needs. Completely free until we find the right fit.
What we’re building doesn’t exist yet. Big consulting firms are too expensive for SMBs. Freelance platforms are too generic. Staffing agencies throw bodies at the problem. We deliver consulting-quality expertise at marketplace speed for the businesses that get overlooked by all three.
Our expert community is what makes this special. Experts join subject-specific Hives where they share knowledge, find mentors, and build their reputation through our proprietary Honey Score. The more they engage, the better the projects they get matched to. It’s a flywheel where participation drives opportunity.
We have 175 experts in our community, 4 active projects scoped, and a growing partner ecosystem including Managed Service Providers, fractional consulting firms, regional resellers, and a talent partner committed to recruiting 400 experts per year. This isn’t a concept. It’s in motion.
What sets us apart is authenticity. This company was born out of real relationships, real pain, and a real gap in the market. Every person on our leadership team chose to be here because they believe in the vision. I’m building this in public, sharing the wins and the struggles, because the founder journey matters and people deserve to see what it actually looks like.
If you’re a business with an IT challenge or an expert looking for meaningful project work, visit us at hivemindd.com.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
AI is going to fundamentally reshape how companies access talent. The traditional model of hiring full-time employees for every IT need is already breaking down. Over the next decade, the workforce will shift heavily toward fractional and project-based expertise, especially in IT where specialization changes faster than any single hire can keep up with.
At the same time, AI is displacing thousands of skilled technologists from traditional roles. That’s not just a workforce problem, it’s a massive supply opportunity. These experts need a place to land, build their reputation, and find meaningful work. Platforms that can intelligently match that supply with demand will win.
The companies that thrive won’t be the ones with the biggest teams. They’ll be the ones with the smartest access to the right expertise at the right time. That’s exactly what Hivemindd is building for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hivemindd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hvmindd?igsh=yzh1ahbunwxldwpo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hivemindd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hvmindd
